At LOOP NOLA, we want all of our outdoor experiences to encourage connection with the natural environment. Some of our participants already love the outdoors and know a TON about Louisiana habitats. Most, however, don’t know a whole lot about the Louisiana environment.

Some of our participants are still young, and we're thrilled to be able to welcome them into the outdoors from such a young age! Others are a  little older and didn’t get the opportunity to spend formative time outdoors growing up. In either case, we always want our participants to have a fun during their LOOP NOLA event and come away with a new appreciation for local outdoor spaces. 

In that vein, we are “celebrating” Invasive Species Week by highlighting one of the most destructive invasive species in Louisiana: the nutria.

If you are unfamiliar with the term invasive species, here’s the super quick definition. An invasive species is a plant or animal that is introduced to a new location and causes a lot of damage in that new location. It doesn’t cause harm to the environment in its native area, but it does cause harm in its new home. Invasive species tend to reproduce quickly and out-compete similar native species in their new home. 

As Louisiana residents, it’s important for us to know about invasive species causing harm to our wetlands. We love leading hands-on educational field trips for New Orleans students, and we’re happy to share information to other folks as well! Thank you for reading, and we hope you come away with some new information about invasive species in Louisiana. 

History of the Nutria in Louisiana

Perhaps you’ve never heard of nutria before today, but you should absolutely know about them if you live in Louisiana. Maybe you’ve seen them on the news, in person, or know someone who takes part in the nutria round ups aimed to get rid of them. Either way, the nutria are here to stay and you might as well learn a thing or two about Louisiana’s invasive inhabitant and their impact on our great state.

This large beaver-like rodent is causing massive amounts of damage to Louisiana wetlands each year. The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a large, semi-aquatic rodent native to South America. Also known as the coypu, the nutria was introduced to North America in the early 20th century for fur farming.

Nutria were introduced to Louisiana in the 1930s where they were originally farmed in captivity, but many ended up escaping or were released into the wild. The plan to use nutria rats in the fur trade didn’t go as well as hoped, and many fur farmers turned them loose when they realized that the small profits weren’t worth the effort. Over the decades, nutrias have adjusted to Louisiana wetlands quite well. Too well…. 

Why are nutria rats a Louisiana invasive species?

Nutrias are very adaptable creatures and can thrive in a variety of habitats, including swamps, marshes, and other aquatic environments. Part of their adaptability has led to their reputation as prolific breeders. Their high reproduction rate combined with their ability to survive in tough conditions has allowed them to become an invasive species in Louisiana. 

Not only is their reproduction a problem, but their eating habits cause major issues in the wetlands. They love wetland plants, and they have a healthy appetite. The biggest concern with nutria in Louisiana is the damage they cause to the state's wetlands.

Nutrias are voracious herbivores, and they consume large amounts of vegetation. This can lead to the destruction of wetland ecosystems, as the vegetation plays a critical role in stabilizing the soil and preventing erosion through processes like nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and water purification. In areas where nutria have been particularly abundant, there have been reports of entire wetlands being destroyed.

The nutria also pose a threat to Louisiana's infrastructure. They have been known to burrow into levees and other structures, weakening them and making them more susceptible to damage from storms and floods. Additionally, nutria can damage agricultural crops, particularly sugarcane, and can carry diseases that can be transmitted to both humans and other animals.

Nutria removal efforts in Louisiana

Efforts to eradicate nutria in Louisiana have been ongoing for several decades. One approach has been to encourage trapping and hunting, and the state has even offered bounties to incentivize nutria removal. There have also been efforts to introduce predators, such as alligators and coyotes, to control the nutria population.

As we are prone to do in Louisiana, there has also been an effort to incorporate nutrias into popular dishes. We do love eating weird creatures here, so maybe it would work? As it turns out, eating rats is too much of a stretch for a lot of people.

More recently, there has been interest in using contraceptives to control the nutria population, as this could potentially be a more humane and effective approach than traditional control methods.

Nutria removal efforts have helped a bit over the years, but they are still considered to be an invasive species in Louisiana. We hope that more effective removal efforts will come about in the near future to help protect Louisiana wetlands against this invasive species.

When teaching our students during wetlands ecology field trips and STEM programs in New Orleans, we want students to understand the role that humans play in our current environment.

Though removal efforts for local invasive species like the nutria should certainly continue, the easiest solution to an invasive species problem is prevention. Overall, the nutria serves as a cautionary tale about the potential impacts of introducing non-native species to a new environment and highlights the need for responsible management and conservation practices.